Compromises
by trufflemores
Summary: In the midst of many changes, Kurt is still struggling to find the right balance between Blaine and his other obligations. Thankfully, he learns that not all problems require immediate solutions, and that long-term investments prevail over short-term grievances. Klaine. COMPLETE.


**Disclaimer**: I do not own Glee or any of its characters; Ryan Murphy and Co. hold that honor. I'm simply writing this for fun, not profit.

Even after living with Blaine for eight weeks, Kurt was still adjusting to his presence.

There were nights when Kurt would come home late from work and all he wanted to do was unwind, even though they hadn't been intimate in over a week and he could almost see how it chafed at Blaine (it chafed at him, too, but exhaustion was like a warm blanket, muffling the undesirable feelings and reeling him in towards sleep). He would try to take his time in the shower (which, depending on the day, was almost always colder than he would like, cutting his plans short) and then lavish his skin with moisturizers afterward, sliding into his favorite pair of pajamas and shuffling underneath the covers on their bed. More often than not he fell asleep almost at once, leaving Blaine to fend for himself (as he frequently did).

Most nights, Blaine would simply slide into bed next to him, spooning him from behind. There was no sense of thwarted desire or lingering bitterness, only quiet acceptance of their fate. Kurt knew that Blaine was busy adjusting to city life, and Blaine was similarly aware of Kurt's many worldly obligations, but it was still reassuring to be accepted unconditionally back into his embrace, regardless of the circumstances. At least some things never changed.

Because he couldn't not try to ease the tension, Kurt would eventually make it up to him with coffees and kisses and date nights when they could afford them, even though Blaine always insisted that he didn't _need _Kurt to. The pleased edge to his smiles was always worth the extra effort, and Kurt loved any opportunity to surprise him in a good way.

Even so, their schedules varied from week to week with mixed results. Some nights Kurt was up unexpectedly late socializing at a party; other times Blaine would pick up another shift at the Spotlight Diner and not return home until the early hours of the morning. No matter what the occasion was, they would always make the effort to crawl into bed and snatch a few hours of sleep together, craving each other's company for those moments – however quiet it was – before facing the world again in the morning.

On the weeks when their schedules were so mismatched that even sharing a bed was impossible, tensions grew palpably. It was frustrating for Blaine to come home to an empty loft three or four nights in a row, and it was hard for Kurt to sleep without his primary cuddling partner. The end results were clipped conversations about spending too much time at work and not spending enough time with each other. Kurt hated arguing with Blaine – and could tell that Blaine hated arguing with _him _– but they couldn't stop themselves, tired and torn and frustrated.

The fights – however mild – would always leave a sick feeling in Kurt's gut until Blaine came to him on the couch to talk it out or he sought out Blaine in the bedroom to reconcile with him. There he would find Blaine folding his own laundry, pinched lips and furrowed brow revealing his unhappiness before he'd even opened his mouth, and Kurt wouldn't speak, at first, just sit quietly on the edge of the bed beside the pile watching him fold clothes.

With a shuddering breath, Blaine would drop his last shirt onto the pile and speak, sometimes in a low murmur as he sat on the bed directly beside Kurt and other times in a more heated tone, addressing an unseen audience with his grievances as he paced. Tucking an arm around his waist or rising to halt his step, Kurt would pull him and let Blaine whisper against his skin how much he missed Kurt, how sorry he was, how much he hated fighting with Kurt.

The litany of _I know, I know, I know _accompanied with broad, sweeping strokes to Blaine's back was calming for both of them. Kurt would rock them until the worst of the emotional storm had passed and then pull him into the kitchen for a late dinner (and they learned not to fight before meals, fighting before meals _always _escalated the issue disproportionately) or into the bathroom for an equally vital scrub down in the shower, sluicing off the grime of their days.

The intimacy of simply being together became an acceptable alternative to sex every night. He learned that giving Blaine head rubs was an easy, rewarding way to spend time together without losing track of the article that he was reading (until Blaine's snuffling snores inevitably distracted him, a tiny smile quirking his lips in spite of himself). Blaine's back rubs were equally important, even though Kurt craved them less frequently than Blaine craved his head rubs. In order to balance things out, Blaine let Kurt steal his sweaters to comfort him at night even when Blaine was away, creating a sense of peace even without his actual presence.

It wasn't perfect, but neither were they. Communicating plans in advance helped to ease the frustration and stress of uncertainty, but there were still times when Kurt craved Blaine's presence when he was away. Even so, they worked to alleviate each other's loneliness, eventually finding a rhythm that gave them both a two-day weekend and mornings mostly to themselves.

It meant that Blaine often stayed up much later than Kurt only to rise before him in the morning to make him breakfast (or, after a week or so of chivalrous attempts, to just shuffle in groggily to join him for a pot of coffee), but to Blaine, it was worth it.

Kurt, for his part, made a point to set aside time for Blaine, surprised how simple it was to manage once he made it a priority.

They both had to make compromises in order to reach towards their goals and live amicably under the same roof, but Kurt was ensure that Blaine knew that he was still important in his life.

If nothing else, the subsequent resumption of an active sex life did wonders for both of their moods.


End file.
